South Sydney’s ability to keep defying expectations was on full display on Friday 24 July as the Rabbitohs edged Melbourne 28-26 at Accor Stadium, a result that keeps them safely nestled inside the top eight and leaves the Storm looking like a side already counting down to Mad Monday.
For a club tipped by many to slide out of finals contention, Souths again showed they thrive in tight moments, overturning an 8-16 half-time deficit with a six-try blitz built on resilience and belief.
Campbell Graham’s double, including a decisive strike in the 75th minute, bookended a scoring sheet that featured Jack Wighton, Brandon Smith, Alex Johnston and John Radel, underlining the Rabbitohs’ growing spread of attacking threats. Latrell Siegwalt and Ashton Ward added crucial conversions to turn those tries into scoreboard pressure, helping Souths wrest control despite Melbourne dominating run metres and offloads.
Just as significant is what this win says about the Storm. Once the benchmark for sustained excellence, Craig Bellamy’s men now look spent, their finals hopes fading after another late fade-out and defensive frailty that has become a worrying theme. Melbourne’s 11th-place standing coming into Round 21 and their inability to protect an eight-point lead suggest a club searching for answers rather than building towards September.
For Rabbitohs fans, though, the sweetest storyline is the emerging hoodoo in reverse: not only did Souths keep their top-eight buffer, they completed a rare regular-season double over the Storm.
Back in Round 8, the Rabbitohs stunned Melbourne at AAMI Park with a record-breaking 48-6 demolition that marked their first ever win in the Victorian capital and exposed deep cracks in the Storm’s campaign. To return in Round 21 and grind out a high-pressure two-point victory at home shows a side capable of both fireworks and grit, a combination that makes them a genuine September nuisance.
With three wins in their last five and a knack for lifting against heavyweight opposition, Souths have gone from top-eight hopefuls to a team that now expects to be part of the finals conversation. If they keep surprising the competition the way they’ve done against Melbourne, the Rabbitohs might not just be safe in the eight; they could be the side no one wants to face when the stakes rise.
